On effects produced by tidal power plants upon environmental conditions in adjacent sea areas

Consideration is given to the change in natural (oceanographic) environmental conditions due to the transformation of the tidal oscillations structure resulting from erection and operation of tidal power plants (TPP). The relevant transformation of tidal movements encompasses practically all its main characteristics : amplitudes, phases and spectral composition of sea level oscillations, as well as the similar parameters of tidal currents and also the intensity and positionning of extremes zones. The changes in positionning and width of the inter-tidal zone, the inter-tidal zone regime, mutual arrangement of mixed, stratified and transient frontal zones, transportation of suspended matter and bottom sediments owing to residual tidal currents, sea ice characteristics, all these changes can be estimated on the basis of mathematical predictive modelling of tidal characteristics transformed by a contemplated tidal power plant. Some results are presented for the Russian large-scale TPP projects in the White and Okhotsk Seas.